This specification relates to processes for digital information retrieval.
Existing electronic social networks provide users with tools for identifying other users with whom they have an interpersonal relationship (e.g., a “friend”). Two users generally declare their interpersonal relationship explicitly; an initiating user requests another to become a “friend”, and the other user accepts or rejects the request. By accepting the request, the second user allows the software of the social network to establish an association between the initiating user's account and that of the other user. Once such an association is established, the two “friends” can see each other's status updates (e.g., typed notes, shared links to web pages, photo uploads). Social networking users commonly have dozens, hundreds, even thousands of such “friends”.
Many social networks provide services for uploading, storing, and displaying digital photographs. However, as there are many users of social networks, there are many digital photographs related to those users. When any particular user wants to view photographs of other users, the user may have to conduct many searches to find photographs of interest, and after each search, the user may be presented with photographs that are of little interest to the user.